Gunmen have reportedly abducted 10 passengers at Ipele area on the Benin-Owo Expressway in Ondo State.
The passengers, it was gathered, were travelling along the road when bandits, who had blocked the routes and waited in ambush stroke.
The vehicle, belonging to one of the popular transport companies, was said to have been abandoned by the road while the victims were marched into the forest.
One of the motorists, who escaped the kidnapped incident, told journalists on Tuesday, in Akure, that the abduction took place over the weekend.
“The travellers were coming from the Eastern part when the gunmen launched an attack, abducting 10 of them inside the vehicle,” the motorist, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.
Funmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, confirmed the incident to Daily Trust on Tuesday afternoon.
She, however, said seven persons were kidnapped, adding that detectives were in the bush combing the axis to rescue the abducted passengers.
“We are only aware of seven persons that were kidnapped. Our men have swung into action in collaboration with other sister security agents to rescue the victims,” Odunlami-Omisanya said.
The latest kidnapping incident is coming barely 24 hours after residents of Upenmen, a community in the Owo Local Government Area of the state, raised the alarm over the incessant attacks and kidnapping on the road by bandits.
Speaking on behalf of the residents on Monday, the monarch of the town, Oba Adewumi Ogunmolasuyi, urged security agencies to strengthen security architecture in the community.
“There is nothing more important to me right now than strengthening security in this area,” he said.
He explained that the community had decided to adopt “traditional and know-your-tenants methods” to curb the incessant kidnapping the area.
